SO DOMAIN I. SIDEROUJ. 



of serpents, whence its name is derived ; whereat 

 the marbles display their spots in a different man- 

 ner, the Augustean being crisped into wavy tops, 

 while in the Tiberian the white is scattered, not 

 convolved. Nor can any columns be formed of 

 ophite, except of a very small size. There are 

 two kinds of it, the white being soft, the blackish 

 or grey hard." He then proceeds to state that 

 both were used to appease head-achs, and against 

 the wounds of serpents ; particularly a kind of 

 ophite named Tephria, because it was of the co- 

 lour of ashes ; and also called Memphites, from 

 the place where it was found, being of a gemmose 

 or sparkling appearance. 



The other passage implies that " good mortars 

 may be made of Egyptian alabastrite, or of white 

 ophite, for this is a kind of ophite of which they 

 make even vases and larger vessels.'* 



Lucan also has, 



Quam parvis tinctus maculis Thebanus ophites. 

 <f Like Theban ophites tinged with small spots." 



Pliny is not very accurate, and it is more pro- 

 bable that the ophite came from Thebes in Upper 

 Egypt, than from Memphis. It must however 

 have been wholly remote from green porphyry, 

 being probably the Thebaic stone, mentioned by 

 Theophrastus, of a dark colour sprinkled with 



